Extreme Daddy Preference

I would say it is because Daddy is gone so long at a time. My son gets very upset when I work overtime or anything, because he loses out on his time with me. It is probably kind of upsetting to her (though she is probably used to it) that Daddy is sometimes there for bedtime and waking up in the morning, and sometimes he's gone for a while. So when he is there, she is probably afraid he will leave her again. Thats a pretty normal thing for a toddler. Just make sure she gets plenty of time with him when he is around, and as she gets older explain that Daddy has to go to work, but he will always come back home. She will get used to it, but still will probably be so excited to have him the days he is there, that she will want him to take care of her, because she will know he is leaving again and won't be there. It is hard as the mother to see that... but I don't think there is too much you can do about it for right now. She will begin to understand as she gets older. My son is a mommy's boy for sure, but I am also a single mom and he doesn't know his dad. Even though I always come back to pick him up at daycare, and rarely leave him other than that, he is always scared if I leave him at grandma's house, or anyone elses, that mommy won't come back. Even at 2 1/2, he gets worried sometimes. I have never left him overnight, but sometimes he will go to sleep with my mom and I pick him up during the night, but the idea of even going in my mom's room scares him when I am around, he is afraid that if he goes in there or goes to sleep there, I will leave. We were helping her get ready to move today, and were there at naptime, I had to leave and have her put him to sleep because otherwise he would just scream because mommy was leaving him there. As soon as I am gone... he doesn't care anymore. They will outgrow it! Good luck!

J.

My daughter did this also and my DH wasn't away for more than 8 hours at a time. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I was there doing the disciplining all day long and then when Daddy came home it was playtime. After we have dinner he goes downstairs to play with the kids until bedtime so I can get the housework done. Playtime doesn't involve much discipline so she always would prefer her Daddy. Now she's 4 and it's pretty much gone away. She still prefers him but isn't so picky about him doing everything and even prefers me for some things.
You must have a wonderful DH for her to be so attached. Please feel blessed by this just as I do because girls grown up and look for men that resemble their relationship with their Dad. It's been said that girls that don't have a positive male figure in their lives tend to end up in bad relationships.
J.

I would not be to worried about this. My son's father is also gone for 24 hour periods of time, and my 22 month old son adores him. When dada is home, he only wants dada, and will scream and cry if he leaves to take the garbage outside. I figure it is kind of like when you have 2 siblings, and 1 lives close, and the other far away. When the 3 of you get together, you naturally want to spend more time with the sibling you see less often. This does not mean that your child does not love you, or want to be you, I think it simply means that she misses her dada, and at this young age, she is expressing it the only way she knows how. Hang in there, and know that there other mom's who feel your pain, and are hoping that this, like everything else shall pass.

I noticed that our 18 month old (son) LOVES his daddy also. My husband owns a business and works a lot. He is gone during day and I'm at home. I cried almost every night for a week because as soon as daddy walked in the door, I was chopped liver. My husband told me that it's because I'm home all day. Once in a great while my hubby can whip in at home for a few minutes during the day...it got so bad I had to tell him he couldn't come home unless Austin was napping. He would get all excited because daddy came home then would cry or sit in a corner "reading" his books and ignore me (for at least 20 minutes) after daddy left. Just this morning (my husband had to work) Austin woke up and cried when I went in his room and just said "daddy, whe a you" (Austin for where are you).
We did talk to his doctor about it and he confirmed what my husband said....he just doesn't see him as much as me. The doc also said that even little ones go through stages of favoring one person over another. I was told to just hang in there and the tables would be turned sooner or later. It gets tough though when I am having an emotional day (especially during "that time"). Sometimes mommys just need a hug!!!!

my 19 month old daughter is the same way. she has been attached to my husband since day one. I was a single mom before that and she never really knew her father. so when I remarried she got attached to my husband.
I take the attachment as a refreshing break. she goes through her spells when she only wants mama. otherwise she has been a total daddys girl. just be patient. it'll even itself out

My daugther is 18 months old and this is a HUGE issue with us. Neither myself or my husband is away for over 24 hours on a regular basis, but a few weeks ago I was working really long hours and basically didn't see Ava for almost 2 days (she was asleep when I left in the morning and again when I got home at night). She was also sick at the time. Ever since then its all about Daddy. If she wants a drink and I pour it, she cries until I hand the cup to her Daddy to give to her. She wants him to do everything for her and its bad enough that I have to hand him things to give to her because she won't accept them from me.....its gotten a "little" better in the past few days, but I'm glad that I'm not the only one. I was beginning to take it personally!!!
Good luck!
Christ

I went through this with my one and only daughter. I have two older sons who just wanted mom so this was a huge slap in the face to me too. We asked our doctor for advice on this and this is what he told us and it worked. You need to have your husband take "time outs" where he goes away for a bit and you have you and baby time. He doesnt need to leave since that isnt the problem, but he needs to find something where he is busy and out of sight. Whether its taking a hot bath or shower, or working on the yard, garage, whatever. Then you have a special project prepared for you and your daughter. Making cookies together worked great for us. Get the cut outs that arent hard to do and have her help cut them out. It worked like a charm. After a few weeks of having mommy and me time while daddy was home, we broke the attachment. Now my husband wasnt away for that length of time, but we worked opposite shifts mon-fri so she never had us home together except on the weekends and this is what we tried. Good luck!